Honduras will look to avoid setting an unwanted World Cup record when they face Ecuador in their second Group E fixture in Curitiba today.

The Central American side have not actually found the net in any of their last five matches in the competition, with their only goal on the World Cup stage coming on their debut appearance back in 1982 when they held hosts Spain 1-1.

If their drought runs for another 38 minutes they will have surpassed the only two teams to have fared worse in front of goal in the competition’s history, Bolivia (517 minutes) and Algeria (506). Luis Fernando Suarez, the Honduras coach, said: “We are aware of the challenge we face and we are enjoying it. It is a privilege to be at a World Cup. To win games you have to score goals and you have to play well – we know it won't be easy but we leave the statistics to one side.”

Both Honduras and Ecuador are looking to get their first points in Group E after respective opening losses to France and Switzerland, and both should know all about the other. This is because of the strange coincidence whereby each team’s coach once led the other at a World Cup finals. Ecuador’s Reinaldo Rueda was in charge of Honduras at South Africa 2010 whereas his fellow Colombian Suarez guided Ecuador to the round of 16 in 2006.Rueda said: “Obviously, it is a match I would have preferred to have avoided.

I love the people of Honduras very much and the love I have for them will always be there, even though we have a very intense 90 minutes ahead of us. I think they play better football now, and I like the team a lot more than I did when I was in charge.”The teams last met in Houston last November in a 2-2 draw, Enner Valencia’s 89-minute penalty rescuing a draw for Ecuador after Carlos Costly’s double for Honduras.